Most of my genealogy research is for people who are well and truly hooked, or have reached a ‘brick wall’ in their own research, or perhaps want to get to the bottom of an old family story.

Here’s something different: set-price packages for anyone who’s just interested to know a bit more about their ancestry. I call them ‘Gift Packages’ because they would be great as gifts for someone you love. Although, of course, that ‘someone’ could be you!

This is not intended as a scholarly piece of research, and is not as ‘in-depth’ as my usual genealogy research. That’s reflected in the hours it takes me, and the cost to you. It is a ‘taster’ of the ancestry and family history of the recipient – a sort of ‘getting to know the ancestors’ and the lives they led. However, it is sound research, fully supported by documentary evidence. Copies of that evidence will be included in the report. Where decisions have to be made about seemingly conflicting evidence, this will be explained in the report too.

Four options
Follow the links to find out more.

Family Tree Gift Package: direct ancestry for One Surname, back to around 1800-1837
This package includes direct ancestors along one selected surname: parent, grandparent, great grandfather, GG grandfather, GGG grandfather, etc, plus all spouses of each (but not spouse’s parentage or ancestry) and all children born to each generation. In-depth research of the children of each marriage who are not direct ancestors will not be included, but baptisms, entries on censuses and any other information while they remain at the family home will be included.

Family Tree Gift Package: One Grandparent’s Direct Lineage, back to around 1800-1837
This package includes all direct ancestors of one grandparent: great grandparents, GG grandparents, GGG grandparents, etc, plus all children born to each generation, and any additional spouses. In-depth research of the children who are not direct ancestors will not be included, but baptisms, entries on censuses and any other information while they remain at the family home will be included. This differs from the ‘single surname’ option in that your grandparent has two parents, four grandparents, eight great great grandparents, and so on. It will therefore include more ancestral lines and many more individual people.

Family Tree Gift Package: Following the Female Line back to around 1800-1837
This package includes direct ancestors along your direct maternal line: mother, grandmother, great grandmother, GG grandmother, GGG grandmother, etc, plus all spouses of each (but not spouse’s parentage or ancestry) and all children born to each generation. In-depth research of the children of each marriage who are not direct ancestors will not be included, but baptisms, entries on censuses and any other information while they remain at the family home will be included. This differs from the ‘One Surname’ package, above, in that the focus is on the women, and the surname will change with every generation.

Family Tree Gift Package: Full Ancestry back to 1800-1837
If someone special in your life has a milestone event coming up, you might want to consider surprising them with a very personal special gift: a family tree taking all ancestral lines back to around the year 1800.

Like the previous options, this is not intended as an in-depth, scholarly piece of research; and that is reflected in the hours it takes me, and the cost to you. Nevertheless, it is still a considered purchase.

Why do these Gift Packages have a cut-off date of 1830-1837?
It’s all to do with changes in the way the population was recorded between 1837 and 1841, and the consquent availability of records and the way they work together.

• In 1837, Civil Birth, Marriage and Death certificates were introduced in England and Wales.
• Shortly afterwards, in 1841, the modern decennial Census commenced in England and Wales. 
• Before this, and continuing throughout the nineteenth century, we also have Baptism, Marriages and Burial records from the local parish registers.

The Census and the Civil Births, Marriages and Deaths are nationwide record sets. They have almost always survived and are mostly available online. We can combine and cross-reference these two types of record with each other and also, where available, with Baptism, Marriage and Burial records from the local parish registers. Cross-referencing means we often have several documents all pointing us towards the same facts, and serving to verify them. It is the ready availability of these and other records of this period online that means a decent family tree can be built comparatively quickly – certainly in comparison with the pre-1800 records – and consequently at a lower cost to you.

However, since ancestors recorded on the 1841 census, and anyone with a marriage or burial/ death record after 1837 may have been born in 1800 or even earlier, the resulting family tree may well include ancestors born in the early nineteenth or even late eighteenth century.

Note that online availability of records from Nonconformist places of worship is not always as widespread. If online availability of records for any of your denominations or locations of interest is limited I will tell you this during our initial consultation or as it becomes known, during research.

Testimonials from happy clients

Janice did an absolutely outstanding job for me, tracing one side of my family back over several hundreds of years. She was painstakingly meticulous in her research, communicating regularly about her progress and unswayed by the mistakes previous (family member) researchers had made, which could so easily have led down false routes. She backed up her findings with prints of relevant documents, and the photographs she unearthed of previously unknown ancestors were a thrilling bonus. Personally, I particularly appreciated the ‘sense of place’ she managed to convey, with both old and contemporary photographs of the houses where my antecedents had lived. She collated all her findings into an easily accessible family tree, but in the end what I loved the most was how she then wove all these dusty documents into a flowing narrative that brought all these long-dead people back to life for me, and with that gave me a little insight into who I am and how I have been shaped by those before me.

Thank you Janice, for helping these shipyard workers, cotton weavers, scenery artists and piano-tuners, among many others, step out of the shadows and talk to their blood descendant across the centuries.

Cheryl W, June 2019.

*****

Janice worked with my sister and me to help us trace a line of our family tree. The amount of information Janice was able to provide was overwhelming and the details staggering. The layout, manner and thought that went into the transcripts we received were fantastic. I would gladly recommend Janice to anyone trying to trace their ancestors/ancestry. Many thanks.

Dave W, August 2019.